Three thousand years and a rebellion
by VaialaVerikova
Summary: Daine somehow skips 3000 years and learns more than she ever dreamed of in this new time and galaxy AU slight DN romance later on.
1. A Fall Through Years

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I only own the characters you don't recognise.

Daine had just stepped inside her rooms and was walking over to greet the few sparrows on the windowsill when everything went fuzzy. She grabbed the back of a chair, fighting to stay upright then felt the chair dissolve in her hands. She was standing somewhere that was pitch black and there didn't seem to be any floor beneath her feet. Suddenly she was falling, still in darkness. There was light for a second, just long enough for her to see a large circular building made of metal and then she hit the ground and blacked out.

" Daine?" she heard a faintly familiar voice saying, a hand stroking her hair back from her forehead, " Can you hear me darling?" Daine opened her eyes with an effort and focused on her mother's face.

" Ma?" she whispered, " What happened?" for some reason her mother burst into tears and hugged her tightly.

" You skipped three thousand years of time." Her father's voice said and Daine sat up as he came over and hugged her once Sarra had drawn away.

" How can I have skipped three thousand years?" Daine asked, utterly confused.

" No one knows." Sarra sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. Daine took a moment to look round her. The room she was in had a curved ceiling and appeared to be made of some kind of paper. There were strips on the ceiling that gave off a bright white light and everything seemed to gleam.

Her parents' clothes were strange as well. Her mother wore a white dress with some kind of jacket over the top, her long hair coiled into a bun high on her head. Her father wore a shirt, tight breeches tucked into shining black boots that came up to just below his knees. His jacket hung open revealing some kind of weapon tucked into a holster hanging from his belt. A strange looking knife with circles on the hilt hung from his belt on the other side.

" Ma?" a voice called from outside, " she awake yet?"

" Yes Sassoon. Be patient." Weiryn called back and Daine frowned.

" Who was that?" she asked

" Your brother." Sarra replied, " Apart from Sassoon you've another brother Salogel and two sisters Amy and Hannah. They want to teach you about travelling through space."

" How do you do that?" Daine asked, utterly confused.

" In a ship or a shuttle or a jet." Weiryn replied, " Get changed and they'll teach you everything they know, which is a lot considering they're the best pilots in the galaxy."

" I don't think I understand." Daine sighed.

" At fifteen you've plenty of time to learn so get on with it." Sarra retorted tossing a pile of clothes to her. Weiryn left and Daine changed into cotton trousers and a tight fitting top with long sleeves. She pulled on ankle high boots and put of a sleeveless jacket the came to her hips. Sarra handed her a ribbon and she tied her hair back in a horsetail before following her mother out.

The doors didn't swing but hissed upwards into the ceiling and then hissed back down to the floor. When they turned a corner Daine stopped, staring at a figure walking towards them. The figure appeared human but was made of silver metal with round lit up circles for eyes and a slit for a mouth.

" Hello." It said in an odd sounding voice when it reached her and Daine backed up a step, " I am silver 54. I am a protocol droid trained in seven million forms of language and communication."

" 54 stop scaring her." Sarra laughed and began to lead Daine away.

" Oh dear. I am terribly sorry. I think I shall shut down for a while." Silver 54 said and walked away. Daine stared after him and then whispered to her mother,

" What was that?"

" A droid." Sarra replied, " They aren't human or in fact a creature at all. They are mechanical and just think like us."

" I don't understand." Daine sighed and Sarra laughed.

" You'll soon learn." She assured and led her outside into the sun. In front of them was a large circular object made of grey metal that stood on ten legs. A ramp went up from the ground to a door in the underside of it.

" What's that?" Daine asked.

" Hannah's star ship." Sarra replied.

" Hello." A girl who looked very like Sarra called. She sat on the top of the ship; a plate of the grey metal lying beside her as she fiddled with something in the hole the plate had left.

" That's Amy." Sarra said.

" Come up." A girl who looked more like Weiryn called, appearing from the other side of the ship and skipping up a ladder to sit beside her sister. Daine followed, frowning as she looked into the hole with was a mess of wires and odd pieces of metal.

" Right." The girl said, " I'm Hannah by the way and that's Salogel." She pointed to a boy who looked like a male version of Daine, " And I don't where Sassoon is. Knowing him he's off fiddling with something and causing trouble." The two girls then began instructing Daine about everything they knew about machines, which turned out to be a lot. That night Daine went to bed with her mind full of images of different parts of the ship and their names.


	2. A Change Of Scene

Daine smiled as she watched Hannah and Sassoon play fighting while she sat on the top of the ship. She had been in that time for a month and learnt almost more than she could believe about ships and how they worked as well as space travel.

" Daine sweetheart." Sarra called appearing in the open front door.

" Yep?" Daine answered.

" Come inside a minute." Sarra answered and disappeared again. Daine sighed and climbed down before following her mother inside.

" What is it?" she asked when she sat down opposite her parents in the main room.

" We were thinking that you'd be a lot better off if you went to a boarding school on Earth." Weiryn said hesitantly as if unsure it was a good idea.

" We can quite understand if you don't want to." Sarra added quickly and Daine smiled.

" It seems to me that it would most interesting." She said then stood and walked out grinning. She went into the workroom where she and her siblings often messed around with pieces of technology. She was making a droid that they had plans for. The droid was almost finished apart from the metal plating on the outside and a few loose wires that needed to be put into place.

Daine quickly fixed the last few wires in place, twisting them and eventually setting the last one in place. The droid had a cylinder shaped body with a hemisphere shaped head and no neck so the head spun round on the top of the body. Four wheels were fixed to the bottom of the body with legs that would appear from compartments to go up stairs or over rough ground.

Daine pressed the wire further into place and the droid let out a shrill whistle. Daine sat back and laughed as the droid spun its 'eye' to look at her. The eye was like a small version of the lens on the ancient cameras she had been shown pictures of. The droid let out a series of whistles and clicks and Daine was surprised to find she understood.

" Yes I know." She laughed, " I wanted to see if you worked before I shut you up entirely." The droid whistled happily and Daine began to screw the metal plating covering in place as the droid whistled and clicked, making comments that made Daine laugh.

" What are you laughing about?" Sarra called.

" My droid works." She calls back, " and he has the strangest mind set." Her whole family heard and came running through as Daine screwed the last plate in place. The droid whistled and spun round in a circle obviously pleased.

" Yes you do get to keep all the plates." Daine answered.

" How do you understand him?" Sassoon asked and Daine shrugged.

" I just do." She replied, " I don't know how."

" You sure about going to school?" Sarra asked.

" She's going to school?" Amy asked.

" Since when?" Hannah asked.

" Since now." Daine replied.

A week later she was trying on her school uniform, spinning round in a circle to show her sisters. The uniform consisted of tan coloured tights, a pleated blue skirt that fell to her knees, a white shirt, lilac cardigan and black kitten heels.

" Sexy." Hannah cried jokingly and Daine glared at her. Before turning to look at herself in the mirror. She had to admit the outfit didn't look like a uniform to her, more of a casual outfit for weekends but she looked quite nice and it was comfortable.

When she got up the next morning she was incredibly excited and for a moment she didn't know why until she remembered that she was going to school for the first time that day. She got up and put on her uniform, pulling her hair into a ponytail and fixing gold studs in her ears.

" Daine?" Weiryn called, " You up yet?"

" Yes." Daine called back and slid her feet into her shoes, looking at herself in the mirror. She then walked out of her room and into the dining room. She toyed with her food slightly until Sassoon yelled at her to stop messing and eat.

" You're allowed to take your droid, what ever his name is." Sassoon reminded her.

" He's called A5." Daine snapped, " And I know."

" Hey, hey." Salogel cried, " No fighting." Daine laughed and picked up her two large bags, carrying them to the front door and waiting for Hannah to open the door for her before she walked outside to the waiting school shuttle. She quickly said goodbye to her family, laughing and assuring them she'd be fine. A5 sped onto the shuttle as soon as he had said goodbye to 54. Daine slung her shoulder bag further up her arm and smiled.

" He has a feisty character." 54 commented and the family laughed.

" Are you sure you'll be all right?" Sarra asked, " I mean you've not even been here that long."

" I'll be fine honestly." Daine cried and Sarra gave her a pink purse.

" There's a thousand pares in there." She said, " You can call us if you need more."

" All right." Daine said, still trying to get used to the form of money that was used the galaxy over, " How do I call?"

" With this." Weiryn answered and handed her what she discovered was called a mobile phone. The handsets had been invented a millennia before and were widely used, by that time having enough signal power to reach across the galaxy.

" I'm not sure I know how to use this." Daine commented.

" A5'll show you." Amy pointed and Daine nodded before smiling and walking onto the ship.

" Daine wait." Hannah cried suddenly, " I forgot to give you this." She handed Daine a bag about the size of a large puppy and kissed her sister's cheek. Daine smiled and walked deeper into the ship as the door closed behind her. A girl in the same clothes with her light brown hair in two short plaits appeared smiling. Her brown eyes sparkled as she looked at Daine and then the small droid whistling as he spun round.

" He yours?" the girl asked and Daine nodded, looking round for somewhere to put her bags, " Put your bags in here." The girl said, pointing a rack that had one empty space. Daine slid her bags in place and then took her shoulder bag and the small bag Hannah had given her with her as she followed the girl through a short corridor into a large room with tables and chairs all screwed to the floor.

There were ten or twenty girls sitting in the room all with a bag of some kind beside them.

" I'm Valerie Murray by the way." The girl said, " And you Veralidaine Sarassri am I right?" Daine looked at her surprised.

" How did you know?" she asked and Valerie smiled.

" I was told a new girl was coming and you're the only one I didn't recognise." She answered and they sat down at a small table in the corner.

By the time the shuttle was out of the planets atmosphere they were best friends.

" What did your sister give you?" Valerie asked and Daine shrugged, unzipping the bag and lifting out several objects wrapped in tissue paper. She unwrapped one to find a small bottle of perfume. She sprayed a small amount onto the inside of her wrist and rubbed her wrists together before sniffing the sweet fragrance.

" That's really nice." Valerie commented after Daine had given her permission to spray a little on her own wrists. Daine picked up the second parcel and unwrapped it to find a small rectangular silver block.

" What is it?" Daine asked and Valerie laughed.

" It's an Mp3." She replied, " They were invented just after mobiles and people have used them ever since. You load songs onto them and then you can listen to them whenever you want." Daine watched as Valerie showed her how to use it.

" She's already put songs on it." Valerie commented and then Daine found several pairs of earphones in a third package and a splitter that would take four pairs. While Valerie picked a song for them to listen to Daine opened the last three parcels and found bracelets, necklaces, rings and earrings.

" All the songs we listen to come from another planet and most of them were recorded a millennia ago." Valerie commented while gasping over the beauty of the jewellery.

" How much stuff comes from a millennia ago and has just been tweaked?" Daine asked and Valerie grinned.

" A lot." She answered, " They were a clever lot back then. All right there were still wars but boy did they think of ways to solve problems. In those days there were to many protests to stop poverty and war to count. We still have little rubber bracelets that they made saying make poverty history and stop the war."

" I see." Daine murmured, " In my day we just had cross bows and catapults and stuff."

" Swords, daggers and all that jazz." Valerie commented.

" What does that mean?" Daine asked.

" An expression, " Valerie answered, " kind of like you can't be bothered to go through the list so I just say all that jazz."

" Why is that girl glaring at me?" Daine whispered a few minutes later, watching a plump girl with stringy brown hair falling a little past her shoulders, a double chin, badly done makeup and a skirt that was far to short.

" That is Lizzie Blair." Valerie answered, " The bitch of the school, watch out for her."

" I will," Daine commented.

" So what do you know about the school?" Valerie asked and Daine shrugged.

" It's a boarding school and it's good. That's about it."

" So you don't know about the rebellion?" Valerie murmured and Daine looked at her.

" I didn't know there was one." She sighed.

" I guess I'd better tell you then." Valerie said, " Well. At the moment there are a large group of people, Imper family they call themselves, short for imperial. They are gradually taking over the galaxy and their ways are cruel. One toe out of line and they hurt you. Of course they have to get to you first but you get the point. At the moment they rule just over half the galaxy." Her voice dropped to a whisper and Daine took the earphones out of her ears to her better, " What our school is doing is creating a large force of girls and boys who have the strength to fight. We learn to fight better than anyone else and we all have a power. You can only get in if you have it which means you do. We will be an army by the end of two years."

" I see." Daine murmured.

" Anyway." Valerie said, her voice back to its normal level, " We share rooms and I think we'll be sharing. We have separate bedrooms but we share a bathroom and living room. that all right with you?"

" Yep." Daine answered and then a voice came over what Valerie said was an intercom telling them to get ready because they would be landing in ten minutes. Daine packed her presents back into the small bag and found room for the small bag in her shoulder bag.

There was a tiny jolt as the ship touched down and all the girls picked up their bags and walked off down the ramp. Daine gasped when she saw where they were. In front of her was the tower Numair had lived in, exactly she same apart from the fact that the stones had obviously been replaced several times. There were large building around the base of the tower and fields of green grass.

" Welcome to Mage Tower School." Valerie said and Daine followed her to the nearest building. A5 commented on things they passed and Daine smiled as they went inside and up the stairs to a set of rooms they had been directed to.

" These are your access cards." A woman in her thirties said, following them up the stairs, " These will let you onto the computer system. Your personal code to type in is on the back." The woman vanished and Daine and Valerie went into their rooms, dumping their bags by the door.

The living room was quite large, with a circle of white sofas in the centre and two desks and a cabinet by the wall opposite them. There was a low table in the centre of the room and the walls were white with rails so that drapes and pictures could be hung up if they wanted to. There were three doors. They both went to the first one and found it was a bathroom, white and blue tiles, a large bath, a shower, toilet and sink. Towels hung on a rack beside the bath.

" Bigger than the one I had last year." Valerie commented.

" Lets look at the bedrooms." Daine sighed and they went to the second door. The walls of the room were pale pink, a large bed in the centre with a lilac bedspread. A wardrobe and a chest of drawers stood in the corner, a dressing table and full length mirror in the opposite corner.

The second bedroom had the same layout but with blue walls. The windows of both rooms led out onto a small balcony that overlooked a small garden.

" There's the dinner bell." Valerie said when a bell rang an hour later as they were unpacking.

" I'm coming." Daine said and followed her out the door, sliding her access card into her pocket. They went downstairs into a large noisy hall and picked up trays, knives, forks, spoons and cups before getting food from the canteen.

" Hey Valerie." A girl with strawberry blond hair said, " Who's this?"

" Veralidaine Sarassri." Valerie said, " Daine this is Ruby Hall."

" Hi." Daine said and followed both girls to a large table with only three spaces left at the other end of the room. Daine was welcomed by at least twenty chattering girls. She ate quietly, listening to the girls talking and laughing.

This might be fun, she thought to herself and smiled slightly, looking up and meeting Valerie's twinkling eyes.


	3. A Strange Feeling

" Gods. That dress looks fantastic on you." Valerie cried as Daine emerged from the fitting rooms in the shop they were in. there was a disco that Friday and Daine was trying to find a dress. The one she had tried on was a black halter neck, falling half way down her thighs.

" You really think so?" Daine asked and Valerie rolled her eyes.

" Why do you think I said it stupid?" she asked and Daine laughed, going back into the cubicle and changing back into her own t-shirt and jeans. She took the dress to the desk and paid for it.

" I know the best shoe shop." Valerie said, linking arms with Daine as they walked down the main street, " And the prices are reasonable." One block down they went into a large shop with a large shoe display in the windows. Daine tried on numerous pairs of shoes until she found a pair that she liked, black stilettos with woven straps across her toes and round her ankle.

" This is going to be fantastic." Valerie cried, spinning round in a circle later when they were back in their rooms. She opened the cabinet and plugged Daine's Mp3 into the small speakers, turning up the sound. Both girls began dancing round the room singing,

" Bye, bye miss American pie. I drove the Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry. Them good old boys were drinking whisky and rye singing this'll be the day that I die, this'll be the day that I die." Daine suddenly stopped, feeling watched and looked out the window Valerie spun to a halt and looked at her.

" Daine?" she asked, " You all right?"

" Yeah." Daine sighed, " I just felt like I was being watched for a second. You know that kind of feeling you get when your talking and you realise the teacher's been glaring at you for the past five minutes."

" I know it well." Valerie laughed, " Happens to me every lesson."

" Ya wee devil." Daine cried, jumping out the way and Valerie swung a fist playfully at her. Valerie put her hands on her hips and pouted. Daine copied her and laughed when Valerie glared.

" You've still got work to do." She reminded her friend and Valerie threw her hands in the air in disgust.

" I don't understand it. I don't understand you. Here you are skipping three thousand years of time and you understand everything." She cried and Daine grinned, crossing her arms over her chest.

" Shows I aint stupid." She retorted and then picked her mobile up off her desk as it beeped. She opened the text and laughed.

" What is it?" Valerie asked and Daine shook her head.

" Hannah asking if I need any more songs to listen to." She answered, " We've only listened to half of them she gave me so many." She quickly answered her sister's text and put her phone back on her desk.

The door slid open and a girl with long brown hair and blue eyes came in.

" Hey Ruby." Valerie said, sitting at her desk.

" Hey." The girl answered, looking at Daine, " Did you get a dress?"

" Yep." Daine replied and fished her dress from her bag, holding it up against her, " A bit on the short side for my taste but the best one I could find."

" Considering Valerie took you to buy it it's pretty long." Ruby commented and they both laughed as Valerie glared at them.

" She did try to make me buy a skirt that was practically just a long belt but I refused." Daine mused, folding her dress back into its bag and flopping down on the sofa.

" You've got nice legs." Valerie cried, " In fact you've got a nice figure all round. You should flaunt it."

" And you said you weren't a slut." Daine laughed.

" You really are a bitch sometimes you know." Valerie laughed.

" Thanks." Daine snapped dryly.

" Any time." Valerie replied, " If you want to see a slut wait and see what Lizzie Blair wears to the party."

" Knowing her it'll be a bikini and a belt." Ruby sighed.

" To much information." Daine cried, " With her figure I think I'll go blindfolded."

" You know that's a really good idea." Valerie said, " But a better idea is to snap the bitch's neck."

" Good point." Daine mused.

The door slid open again and A5 rolled into the room.

" A5." Daine sighed, " Where've you been?" the droid whistled and Daine raised an eyebrow.

" What's he saying?" Ruby asked

" He went to visit the droid workroom." Daine replied, " Why go there?" A5 whistled again and Daine shook her head, " He wanted to see it."

" Well." Ruby said, " In case you haven't noticed we've got combat class in ten minutes. You'd best get changed." She stood and left, the door hissing to a close behind her.

Daine sighed and went into her bedroom, changing into loose cotton trousers and a loose polo shirt. When she came out Valerie was waiting and they went down to the hall where they had their combat class.

" I don't understand why we have all the other classes like art and science." Daine admitted, " Why not just teach combat?'

" Because we need to appear to be a normal school if imperial troops come by." Valerie explained, " What good's a rebel army if you're discovered before its ready?"

" Good point." Daine sighed and they went into the hall. Ropes hung from the ceiling in the middle and at one end there was a set of bars about six feet away from the wall at different height. Apart from the ropes and bars there were dummies and punch bags.

" Hurry up girls." Their teacher called and they hurried to sit on the floor beside the re4st of their class.

" Right. I want a quarter of you to go to the ropes, a quarter to the bars and half to the punch bags." Miss Deneve said, she was a good teacher, strict but not so strict that the girls hated her. Daine and Valerie headed towards the ropes as their class split up.

" I've been meaning to ask you." Daine said, " Where are all the boys?"

" They're taught on the other side of the campus." Valerie answered, smiling, " The teachers don't want us distracted from our studies."

" Ah. I think I understand." Daine laughed and picked a rope several girls were already climbing and Daine quickly leapt upwards and climbed to the top of the rope and hung from the bar at the top. When she came down as fast as she could Valerie was still at the top. Daine smiled and climbed up again, moving down at the same speed as her friend as they talked.

" Valerie and Daine." Miss Deneve called, " This is a lesson not a chatter club. Work at your own speed please." Daine rolled her eyes at her friends and went on at her own speed.

" Change." Miss Deneve shouted ten minutes later and the groups moved round. Daine went to the punch bags and began the sequence of punches and kicks she had been taught, making the bag swing slightly.

When Daine got into her rooms after the lesson and dinner she threw off her clothes and took a hot shower before pulling on her pyjamas, a strappy top and cotton trousers, and tying a blue dressing gown round her waist. Her mobile rang as she came out and she picked it up, answering the call and holding it to her ear.

" Hello?" she asked, curling up on the sofa.

" Hello Daine." Sarra's voice said and Daine smiled.

" Hey ma." She said, " I tried to talk to you the other day but Salogel said you were out. I wanted to talk to you about this school."

" What about it?" Sarra asked.

" Did you know it was rebellious and I had this funny power?" Daine replied, practicing using her power as she had been told to do and lifting the table off the ground with her mind.

" Yes." Sarra said, " That's the simple answer. Mage Tower has been a school for centuries. They became rebellious when the Empire began punishing people for no reason. There are ten such schools on remote planets around the galaxy. Girls and boys that have already left are performing small acts of sabotage, blowing up imperial ships, smuggling weapons and such like."

" I see." Daine murmured. She talked to her family for over two hours and then yawned.

" I'm going to bed." She told her sister and cut the line, placing her phone on her bedside table and draping her dressing gown over the back of a chair and climbing into bed.


	4. A Touch of Flexibility

" Daine come on." Valerie yelled and Daine sighed.

" I'm coming." She yelled back, " Are you always this impatient or do you just like annoying me?"

" I like annoying you." Valerie shouted, laughing as she spun round in a circle. Daine spun round as she heard several thumps. She saw Numair, Alanna and George sitting up and looking round.

" Daine?" George asked and she grinned.

" Nice of you to drop by." She commented and Alanna looked round, confused.

" Where exactly are we?" she asked and Daine nodded to pointedly to the tower behind them.

" You skipped three thousand years of time." She said, " This place is a school now."

There was a yell behind her and she turned just in time to dodge Lizzie Blair who turned and charged her again.

" Lizzie get lost." Daine shouted at her.

" Why are you telling me to get lost?" Lizzie asked, " I'm your best friend."

" As if." Daine snorted, " Ever since you first talked to me I've wanted to kick your fat ass out of this universe." Lizzie stared at her, mind obviously trying to produce a good comeback.

" Well you stink." She shouted eventually, running off.

" You're so kind." Daine yelled after her laughing as Valerie ran up and Numair, Alanna and George got to their feet.

" Who was that?" Numair asked.

" Trust me." Daine said, " You really don't want to know. An hour after I met her she called me an effing bitch. She didn't even know me."

" Daine?" a teacher's voice asked, " Who are these people?" Daine turned to see Miss Deneve standing a few feet away.

" Old friends." She replied, " They just time skipped."

" All right. Run along to class and I'll explain things." Miss Deneve said, " What have you got next?"

" Ballet." Daine and Valerie replied and ran off, fetching their bags from their rooms and going into the changing room next to the hall where they had their dance lessons. They pulled off their school uniform, chatting with the rest of the girls and pulled on cream coloured tights, leotards and point shoes, expertly pinning their hair into buns.

" Come in girls." Their teacher Ruth Nimmo called and they poured out of the room into the hall, going automatically to their places. Daine and Valerie stood in the front near the wall. Daine tested her point shoes, going right up onto the points, arms spread for balance.

Numair, Alanna and George were led in by Miss Deneve and sat on a bench by the wall near Daine who smiled at them and then looked back to Ruth as she called for the girls to listen.

" I want to test how flexible you all are today." She said and the girls groaned, " It's not that bad. We'll stretch first and then I'll ask you all to do certain things." They stretched as a class, stretching their legs and bodies. At last Ruth told them to stand in their lines.

" Right first row." She said, " Lift you right leg up, one hand on the arch of your foot." They all lifted their right leg, wrapping a hand round their foot and lifting until their legs went straight up.

" Good second row." Ruth said and the first row sat on the floor. Daine stretched her legs out in front of her, tapping her toes together. She lay flat along her legs and wrapped her hands round her feet.

" How can you do that?' Alanna asked softly, amid the other snatches of chatter. Daine sat up and smiled.

" Practice and a lot of stretching." She replied.

That evening after dinner Daine and Valerie changed into the clothes they had bought for the disco. Daine pulled half of her hair into a messy bun and did her makeup with practised ease while A5 whistled comments. Numair and the Coopers were talking to one of the teachers about something so they went straight down to the hall, which was decorated with streamers, disco lights spinning round the room.

" Oh good." Valerie shouted above the music, " the boys are here." Daine looked round and saw a large group of boys come into the room. she had been to clubs before, let boys buy her a few drinks but never flirted.

" I love this song." Valerie yelled as the music coming from the speakers at the front of the hall changed. All the girls began singing along and the boys laughed at them.

" I started singing, bye, bye miss American pie. Drove the Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry."

" Daine?" a voice asked and Daine turned round to see Numair, Alanna and George standing nearby, obviously only just having come in.

" Loud isn't it." Daine shouted, nodding to the speakers as she walked over.

" To loud." George shouted back and Daine shrugged.

" You get used to it." Valerie cried, stopping beside Daine.

" I'd say that more of a shirt than a dress Daine." Alanna said with a smile.

" That's her fault," Daine cried, pointing to Valerie, " She wouldn't let me buy the longer one."

" The longer one made you look fat." Valerie retorted.

" Talk to the hand cause the face aint listening." Daine laughed, holding up a hand.

" No thanks." Valerie said and then made a face, " Turn around and walk." She said to Daine, steering her friend out of the door.

" What was that for?" Daine asked, picking up a glass of juice from the table in the corridor outside.

" There were some ugly guys coming over, they looked a bit too interested." Valerie replied.

" And you could tell." Daine said, looking at her.

" Hey." Valerie cried, " I've been judging these things for years." Daine rolled her eyes

" Daine." A voice called, " Val." They turned to see Ruby running up the corridor in heels, a skirt and a halter neck top.

" Hey Ruby." Daine said as she finished her drink. Ruby held up the small camera she owned.

" Pose." She said laughing and Daine stood in the centre of the hall with her hands on her hips while Valerie slung an arm round her shoulders. Both girls smiled and then Ruby took the picture, turning it round so they could see the picture displayed on the screen at the back.

" Delete it." Valerie cried and Ruby clicked save, holding it out of Valerie's reach and running into the hall. Just then Ruth came along and began talking to Numair and the Coopers so Daine slipped back into the hall, dancing and singing along with the other girls, laughing when the boys tried to impress them.


	5. A Dramatic Departure

Daine lay awake, listening to the steady beat of Numair's heart that throbbed in her ear. That wasn't the reason she couldn't sleep. She was thinking about the fire two weeks before at the end of year party. She had been at Mage Tower for an entire school year and Numair had been living in the same room as her for half of that. Then came the end of year party in a hall just outside the school grounds. Police said it was set and they would appreciate any information on the fire setter. Daine knew who had ordered it but she was too afraid to say anything.

Her mind skipped back to the moment when she had stumbled from the burning building only to dive back in, looking for Valerie. She found her unconscious at the back of the hall, a slate lying on her chest. Daine whispered the message under her breath, she could barely hear herself.

" Hello Veralidaine, you do realise the dead can still get to the planet of the Gods if a God takes them but not to any other planet. I have people after you my dear. I want my revenge. If you want to protect your precious mage and your pathetic friends, you will have to vanish from their world entirely. Another planet in another system. There are spells to hide you from scrying and Gods that you can buy in the back room of Drama Queen on Siren Road. I expect to hear of your disappearance within the month."

Daine sighed, remembering the day she bought the spelled bracelets from Drama Queen. Numair stirred beside her as she sat up, pretending to listen intently.

" What's wrong?" he asked, noticing her worried frown.

" I thought I heard something outside," she whispered in reply.

" I'll go check," Numair whispered and kissed her gently before getting out of bed. He pulled on boxers and wrapped a shirt round him then slipped out the door.

As soon as the door slid shut Daine leapt quietly out of bed. She quickly pulled on her favourite jeans, t-shirt and trainers before pulling a syringe and needle out of her beside table as the door opened.

" Daine?" Numair asked, " Why are you dressed? It's the middle of the night."

Ignoring his questions Daine crossed the room and wrapped her arms round his neck as she kissed him.

" I love you," she whispered as she stabbed the needle into his arm, the clear liquid pouring from the syringe into his blood stream.

" Daine?" Numair gasped as he felt his Gift bound inside him and his legs went numb, making him sit on the floor hard. He leant against the bed staring as tears spilled down her cheeks.

" Why?" he gasped as Daine struggled to contain her scream at the pain in his eyes.

" I'm so sorry," she whispered, crouching beside him, " If I don't go he'll have you killed."

" Who?" Numair asked, grasping her wrist hard enough to bruise.

" An old friend of yours," Daine whispered, " He wants his revenge for what I did to him. I can't tell you any more." Leaning forward, she kissed him passionately, her tears turning the kiss salty.

Numair opened his mouth to yell for help and Daine kissed again, silencing him.

" Don't make me drug you with something else I beg you," she whispered.

Numair held her wrists tighter as she fought.

" Please," she whispered, " Don't make this any harder than it already is."

" You're being stupid," Numair snapped harshly.

" I'm trying to save your life," Daine whispered and broke free. She felt her lover's pained, helpless gaze on her back as she packed her jewellery, photo album, phone and a few other things into a bag from under the bed that already contained her favourite clothes. Going to her bedside table, she pulled out a pile of letters and a second syringe and needle.

As she searched through the letters, she lifted Numair back onto the bed with her mind and then pulled the cap off the needle.

" What's that?" Numair asked.

" Antidote," Daine replied quietly, placing a letter in his hand and stabbing the needle into his arm.

" I'm so sorry," she whispered and kissed him, " I love you. Try not to be seduced by anyone. I'll be back, just not for a while." Picking up her bag, she pulled a flight ticket from her homework planner and slipped out the door with one painful glance at the man struggling to get out of bed.

Numair watched the door slide shut behind her and rolled on to his back, staring at the ceiling through tear filled eyes. When he realised he could feel his legs again, he went to the window and saw Daine half way up the path that led out of the school. As she turned round to raise a hand in farewell, he created a speaking spell.

Daine felt phantom lips brush hers and then a voice whispered in her ear,

" Stay safe Magelet."

" I'll do my best for you," she whispered back, " I'll try not to get into anything that involves fighting and add to my scars." Her voice shook and she was finding it difficult to breathe steadily.

" I'll do the same," she heard Numair say and blew a kiss up to the window where he stood. Then she turned away and began walking, glancing back at Numair until she could no longer see him.

Only when Daine had vanished from sight did Numair remember the letter she had given him. Opening it, he lay back down on the bed to read her farewell.

_Numair_

_I am so sorry for drugging you. It was the only way I could think of to get away because even drugged you tried your best to stop me, stubborn man. Mind you, if you weren't stubborn how could you put up with me?_

_I left something for you in my drawer, right at the back._

Numair stopped reading and rolled over to her side of the bed. He pulled the drawer of her bedside table open and found two objects. One was a picture he had taken of Daine, placed inside a wooden frame. In the picture, Daine was on the beach in her bikini, midway through a jump. Numair looked at her smile, the laughter in her eyes, and the spray of sand she had kicked up in the jump, her wet curls escaping the hair elastic. Tears filled his eyes as he set the picture on his bedside table and looked at the second object. It was the claw necklace she had worn since a few days before he met her.

_If you don't believe I'll come back for you then you know I'll come back for this. It holds to many memories to abandon, not that I could abandon you for too long. You have every right to be angry with me but I promise that as soon as I know you are safe I will come back. I am angry with myself as well but then you probably know that anyway since you know me so well. Still not sure how that happened but I'm very glad it did. _

_I love you,_

_Daine._

Numair lay rereading her letter for hours, wondering why he hadn't stopped when the antidote freed his gift. He eventually realised that he trusted her and her judgement so he felt that if she thought she had to leave it was probably the right choice.


	6. A Windy City

Shivering Daine pulled her thin coat tighter around her shoulders. She had barely been in Scotland for an hour and she had already decided she hated the harsh Edinburgh gales. She had left the airport and got the shuttle into the centre of town. It was Thursday, the night when all the shops on Princess Street stayed open late. Daine discovered she did not look out of place despite the fact she carried a large holdall and the backpack she had used at school and her hair was badly cut to just above her shoulders. Since the festival was coming up there were dozens of tourists from various countries, planets and solar systems hurriedly trying to find their hotels and get out of the wind that whistled down off the castle.

Daine apologised as she stumbled into someone and then looked up, seeing a shop front with the word Starbucks displayed in large letters above the window. She had gone into Internet cafés at home and looked at various planets and cities, looking for good places to go in each. Starbucks had been mentioned in several. A lot of them had books that listed various types of accommodation.

Coming to a decision Daine pushed through the crowd and into the coffee shop. The interior was warm, decorated with comfortable armchairs, glass tables, dark carpet and wooden panelled walls. Crossing the room to the counter Daine bought a hot chocolate and a sandwich before settling herself and her bags in a large red chair in the corner.

Taking a bite out of her sandwich, Daine picked up the directory on the table in front of her and flicked through the pages, looking for somewhere cheap to stay, preferably one that provided meals.

Two hours later, she was looking at the stone front on a cheap hotel near the top of Leith Walk. Pushing the door open, she glanced round at the foyer with a TV and couches set in one corner a bar in another and the front desk against the wall opposite the door.

" Can I help you?" the receptionist asked.

" Can I have a single room please?" Daine asked.

" Of course, how long will you be staying here?"

Daine answered that she didn't know and answered several other questions. When she was asked to fill and sign a form she hesitated before putting down the false information and the name of 'Diane Sarras' in the writing she had practiced on the journey there.

Once up her room Daine looked round. The bed was the same size as the one she had used at home and twice as comfortable. The desk in the corner held a few cheap pens, a wad of paper and a phone that could be used for room service. Glass doors opened onto a small balcony complete with a small table and chair. The bathroom was large and well equipped. Satisfied Daine wandered outside, leaning on the balcony rail as she turned her phone on.

Grey blue eyes watched people on the street below, the mind behind them thinking about the slight style changes she would make to blend in more as she listened to the dozens on messages left on her phone, mostly by a hysterical sounding Valerie. Numair had obviously read the letter properly and thought about it because he was the only one of her friends and family who had not called. Sighing Daine pulled up his number and pressed call.

" Hello Magelet," his familiar voice greeted her when he answered. In the back ground she could hear several people yelling before a door slammed and their voices were cut off.

" Hello love," Daine murmured, " Valerie stopped screaming yet?"

" Been listening to your messages obviously," Numair chuckled, not to upset that she had gone since she could still talk to him, " You just had to pick the length of flight that goes to at least fifty large planets didn't you?"

" Well I wouldn't want to disappoint you by being easy to find would I?"

" Which brings me to another thing," He sounded amused, " You worried your dear parents sick because they can't find you. Feel free to tell me how you managed to stop gods finding you."

" Go into town," Daine said, " Look for a dramatic shop owned by royalty. I'm sure you'll find the answer there."

" Since when did you talk in riddles?"

They talked for a further twenty minutes before saying goodbye and unknowingly flopping onto their beds in perfect unison.

Sorry it's a bit short and late, I've had writers block and exams 

Summer hols next week!!!

Please, please review because most of the reviews are from one person and would love to have comments people that I don't know. No flames please, constructive criticism only thank you.


End file.
